The new Momentum True Wireless 2 earbuds ship in April for $300.
David Carnoy/CNET
When they got here out in 2018, the Sennheiser Momentum True Wireless had been among the many best-sounding actually wi-fi earbuds, if not the best-sounding. They weren’t with out some flaws, nonetheless. The buds’ batteries would drain whereas within the case, so when you did not cost the case for 4 days, you could possibly find yourself with a lifeless set of earbuds, which was annoying. They had been additionally a tad large, so some individuals complained of discomfort after having them of their ears for some time. And at $300, they had been fairly expensive.

LikeWonderful soundActive noise cancellationSlightly smaller design, extra comfy fitBoosted battery life (7 hours)Better for making callsTransparency mode

Don’t LikePriceyNo wi-fi chargingMay not match everybody’s ears equally properly

The second-generation Momentum True Wireless 2, accessible now for preorder and delivery in April, nonetheless have that elevated $300 (£279; 300 euros) value. But they’re higher throughout, with a barely smaller, extra comfy design, energetic noise canceling that rivals that of the AirPod Pro, improved battery life (as much as seven hours versus the unique’s 4) and higher noise discount throughout calls. And, when you don’t love them in black, a white model is slated to observe later this yr. Most importantly, although, the Momentum True Wireless 2 have the identical stellar sound — for true wi-fi earbuds, anyway — providing clearly superior sound high quality to the AirPods Pro. That makes them arguably the perfect true wi-fi earbuds available on the market right this moment and earns them a CNET Editors’ Choice Award.
That stated, they don’t seem to be essentially for everyone. Aside from the truth that they’re costly — $50 greater than the AirPods Pro — they’re heavier, not fairly as comfy to put on and lack the hands-free Siri discovered on these Apple fashions. And, whereas Sennheiser shrank the brand new earbuds by 2mm, the Momentum True Wireless 2 are nonetheless on the larger aspect and is probably not an ideal match for some individuals’s ears. Personally, they match my ears fairly properly and I obtained a decent seal from the most important ear tip (three sizes are included). As I stated, I felt that the marginally smaller design does assist — I used to be in a position to put on these with no drawback for lengthy stretches.

Read extra: The finest true wi-fi earbuds of 2020That tight seal is essential for optimizing sound high quality and noise cancellation. The AirPods Pro have adaptive noise canceling. The noise canceling on the Momentum True Wireless 2 does not appear to be adaptive, however it’s efficient. In the settings menu, it says, “Single-mic ANC reduces low-frequency ambient noise,” including that activating the function does have an “impact on battery life.” In different phrases, do not anticipate to get seven hours in case you have it on, significantly when you play your music at larger volumes. The charging case does present an additional three costs (21 hours) on the go and Sennheiser has fastened the problem with the buds’ battery draining within the case — they now go right into a deep sleep mode. The buds are 2mm smaller than the originals and the case is a darker shade of grey.
David Carnoy/CNET
I wore the Momentum True Wireless 2 across the streets of New York and within the subway for a few days. You get some passive noise cancellation from simply getting a decent seal, however after I toggled the noise canceling on and off whereas driving the subway, the distinction was instantly obvious. It gave the impression to be on par with the AirPods Pro’s noise canceling for muffling ambient noise. I did not attempt them on a airplane, however I believe they might be good for that atmosphere as properly.

Read extra: Best-sounding wi-fi earbuds: Sony, Sennheiser and extra in contrastLike the originals, these have contact controls and so they work properly, though I like Apple’s stem-squeezing controls on the AirPods Pro just a little higher. You can program the contact controls in Sennheiser’s Smart Control app for iOS and Android. For occasion, I set the tap-and-hold gesture on the best earbud to activate noise canceling. The similar gesture on the left earbud prompts a transparency mode that permits ambient sound in so you’ll be able to have a dialog whereas carrying them.

Now enjoying:
Watch this:

Sennheiser Momentum True Wireless 2 dethrone AirPods…

4:26

Sennheiser is not advertising these as sports activities earphones, however with an IPX4 ranking they’re splashproof and must be sweatproof. I used to be in a position to go operating with out them falling out of my ears and so they’re definitely high quality for lighter exercises on the health club. I can not inform you how properly they will maintain up over time when you sweat on them lots, however they need to have the ability to put up with some moisture with no drawback.Like the originals, the earbuds have quantity controls on the earbuds themselves utilizing the default tap-and-hold gesture. However, after I modified the tap-and-hold gesture to activate ANC — as a substitute of management quantity — I could not change the gesture again to controlling quantity (I needed to reset the controls again to their default settings). The app I used to be utilizing was labeled as beta, and I assume this bug will likely be fastened in an replace.  The earbuds are nonetheless just a little bit on the massive aspect, however they match extra comfortably.
David Carnoy/CNET
A few different settings are value mentioning. You can select to activate sidetone, a function I like that lets you hear your voice within the earbuds and modulate your voice if you’re making a name. And there’s an equalizer within the app to tweak bass and treble ranges to your liking. For functions of this evaluate I left it on the default setting, which appeared completely good to me. Sennheiser added a microphone to every earbud for the noise canceling and there is a beamforming microphone in every earbud to select up your voice when making calls or utilizing your voice assistant. The name efficiency is improved from the originals’, with higher noise discount so individuals can hear you higher in noisy environments (ambient noise is muffled although nonetheless current). I’m unsure these are fairly nearly as good because the AirPods in relation to name high quality, however they carried out properly total on this division.I additionally skilled minimal Bluetooth hiccups — the wi-fi connection was principally stable. They use Bluetooth 5.1, with assist for AAC and aptX audio codes (solely sure Android telephones assist aptX streaming). And I did not have any issues with audio syncing accurately when watching video apps like Netflix, YouTube and Vudu.The case has USB-C however not wi-fi charging.
David Carnoy/CNET
The Momentum True Wireless 2 earbuds have the identical 7mm dynamic drivers because the originals. If there are some slight features in sound high quality, it is extra probably as a result of higher digital processing on account of chip and software program upgrades. As I stated, sound high quality is superb and the Momentum True Wireless 2 has richer, extra detailed sound than the AirPods Pro with well-defined bass, natural-sounding mids and a few sparkle within the treble. These sound like premium headphones ought to. They’re fairly open; the sound does not really feel caught in your head.I rated the Sony WF-1000XM3 earbuds extremely for sound, although they don’t seem to be nice for making calls. The Momentum True Wireless 2 are just a little extra detailed and articulate. On well-recorded tracks you’ll be able to actually hear every instrument; they do not mix in with every like with plenty of Bluetooth headphones. Other high-end fashions just like the Master & Dynamic MW07 Plus ($300) even have clean, properly detailed sound with good bass definition, in addition to some noise cancellation, however the True Wireless 2 have higher design and headset efficiency together with barely higher sound and simpler noise cancellation. The case costs through USB-C, whereas at this value you’d prefer to see wi-fi charging, however that is not a significant omission. The AirPods Pro definitely have an interesting design and have set with sturdy efficiency, however they’re merely not within the Sennheiser Momentum True Wireless 2’s league for sound high quality. And now that Sennheiser has added energetic noise canceling and glued a number of the authentic Momentum True Wireless’ small flaws, these are the earbuds to get when you worth sound high quality over all the things else.